Timor-Leste president back home

DILI, Timor-Leste, April 17 (UPI) -- Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta is back home Thursday, having returned from Australia where he was treated for serious gunshot wounds.

Ramos-Horta was met at the Dili airport by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and then was cheered by thousands of countrymen who waved signs with greetings such as "Welcome home our beloved president! We love you!" the BBC reported.

Ramos-Horta acknowledged the crowd, thanking them for their support and urging the rebels who sought to assassinate him to surrender, the British network said.

The president spent the past two months being treated for the wounds that nearly killed him. Two of the rebels involved in the February attack were killed.